Setting Up in Sumter - Part 4
Once we had to leave Hilton Head Island, I was rather sad. I knew I would miss it a lot. But I was also very curious about how Sumter would turn out. What was it like? I'd never been there before. Hilton Head was a pleasant and wonderful surprise, but I still wondered what Sumter would bring.
It turned out that the area of Sumter we visited was very quiet. It wasn't as active as Hilton Head, which is a known tourist spot. Except for the tournament, there was not a lot going on in the area we stopped at, but in the brochure I picked up, I discovered that Sumter is a growing city with a lot of new developments! There's a strong sense of community there, especially in the African-American areas.
Incidentally, one of the worries I had about leaving and heading down south was that my Google account wouldn't work. I've learned to have less services dependent on this account over time, but since my schoolwork in college is connected to the account, I was concerned about it locking me out if I traveled to a different place. However, it turned out that most of my fears were unfounded. The account continued to work even as we traveled from city to city, state to state. Even in Sumter, where we were quite far away from everything, I didn't struggle in completing my schoolwork or accessing the account.
Once we arrived in Sumter, we were able to check out the clay courts! While Hilton Head's tournament had a firmer, American-style clay surface, the Sumter tournament had real red clay courts! I was happy about having the chance to play on real clay, even if I didn't have a lot of experience on that surface.
The people at the tournament were very nice, but the set-up was kind of confusing. I was fortunate to get a wild card into the tournament, and I kept asking when it was my time to play, but I didn't always receive a clear response. I didn't know until later that this was the first time this particular tournament was hosted, so the organizers had to go through a learning curve.
To make things even more challenging, a slew of rain came! There was so much rain, we had to stop and start play many times. I felt kind of sorry for the organizers, because they clearly put so much time into setting up these clay courts, with beautiful imported clay all the way from Germany. I hoped the rain would stop so the matches could get completed on time.
While I was waiting around during the rain delays, I made a mistake in asking my parents to get me an extra pair of leggings so I could stay warm while I played. Unfortunately, by the time they came back, the allotted practice hour was finished, so I wasn't able to warm up and practice before I competed again. That was a bit disappointing for me, but I wasn't the only player who didn't manage to get a practice in on time! Several players looked shocked when the loudspeaker suddenly announced that the practice hour was over.
But while I was waiting, I did enjoy some snacks at the players' lounge, and the organizers were kind enough to give me a tennis shirt! I also read a very interesting book called "The Pictorial History of Tennis". Throughout the book, I learned about the history of tennis, including fantastic players from long ago that I'd never heard of before. Althea Gibson even appeared in the book! It was amazing to learn about how tennis unfolded, especially in its transition from an amateur sport to the professional level. There were so many excellent players, including female players who battled it out on the courts, long before the WTA and ATP existed in today's modern tennis.
Me and My Friendly Opponent
My opponent was a very friendly young lady named Sofia. Like the first opponent I played at Hilton Head, she was extremely talented and very skilled. But this time, I managed to win a game! That alone meant a lot to me because of how good these players were :)
Sofia was nice to meet, and she was very fair throughout our match. I never had to worry that she would make a bad call on purpose or lie about the score. As we talked, she was surprised to hear I was 26 years old. She said I looked very young, and I said, "Well, that's a good thing! I guess I have a youthful spirit!"
After the match was over, and Sofia won, she said she was sorry about the rain delays and how they impacted our match. I told her she didn't have to apologize: it's not something we could control! We said a friendly good-bye, and I waved good-bye to the officials, too.
When I looked at my sneakers at the end of the day, a little red clay spilled out. And it struck me that I had a chance to play on the red clay! I was glad I decided to go out there and try my best, even if I didn't win the match.